Ronchi, Ackermann boost Leicestershire's hopes of top-four finish

Luke Ronchi's blistering 27-ball 57 - his second half-century on the trot - and Colin Ackermann's well-paced 58 boosted Leicestershire's hopes of a top-four finish in the North Group as they registered their second win in as many games.

Half-centuries from Tom Kohler-Cadmore and Shaun Marsh went in vain as Yorkshire lost the game by four wickets in the NatWest T20 Blast encounter at Grace Road, Leicester on Saturday (August 12). Leicestershire chased down a target of 183 with two deliveries to spare.

Cameron Delport had the best seat in the house from the non-striker's end as Luke Ronchi flayed the Yorkshire attack during the course of a 54-run opening stand that came in under four overs. While a mini collapse ensued, as Leicestershire lost three wickets within four overs, the positive influence that Ronchi's knock had on the required-rate, meant that the middle-order batsmen had sufficient time to consolidate and get their team back on track.

When Ronchi was dismissed in the eighth over, Leicestershire's run-rate was in excess of 10 an over, and Ackermann endeavoured to maintain that with his breezy display of batting. He was the pillar around the latter part of Leicestershire's chase while the lower-order batsmen came up with handy contributions to ensure that the game remained in the home team's control. With seven required off the final over, Ackermann was happy to witness from the non-striker's end as Matthew Pillans hit the winning boundary to seal the deal off the fourth ball of the last over.

Earlier, Yorkshire posted their second 180-plus score in as many days, riding on fifties from Kohler-Cadmore and Shaun Marsh. Despite losing Adam Lyth in the first over, Kohler-Cadmore stuck to his aggressive approach, dealing in regular boundaries even as David Willey struggled to get going at the other end. Following the departure of Willey, Marsh turned out to be the ideal partner for Kohler-Cadmore as they feasted on the Leicestershire bowling attack with regular hits to the fence while they also ensured that the singles and twos weren't missed.

The outcome was an 82-run stand that set the platform for Yorkshire, which Marsh and Adil Rashid made sure to capitalise on following the departure of the 22-year-old opener. While Kohler-Cadmore and Sarfraz Ahmed fell in successive overs, Leicestershire would have viewed it as an opportunity to restrict Yorkshire. However, as many as 50 runs were scored in the last five overs of the innings, as Marsh and Rashid put on a half-century stand to propel Yorkshire past 180, which, however, wasn't enough for the visiting side eventually.